New to this site....read lots of care and crabitat stuff.

[igotcrabs75]

I have had crabbies for about 5 or 6 years. I know now after finding this site that I have been doing a lot wrong! I am currently with 5 crabs and need a bigger tank and more substrate. The right kind too!!! This will be addressed first from me.Substrate being first because I think I have two diggers at the present time.One of which I've had for two years. The other four were brought back for me from VA beach from my niece,God love her!! So now I'm getting back into this properly.As I said,I know I need to make changes and will do so this week,I also know I may lose the two diggers because I should not disturb them.I will pray I don't have to say good-bye to any crabs.So I just wanted to jump in to say hello!!! And trust me I will seek advice if need be,most of my questions are answered in the forums. I would like to say add me as a friend if you would like to chat or check on my progress!!

[Crabinski]

Welcome aboard! A lot of us were in your same position -- I had been crabbing for quite a while, relying on "advice" from pet store staff and books, before I figured out even the basics, i.e., a tank (not a mesh-sided cage), EcoEarth (not calci-sand), etc, but somehow the crabs survived in spite of me . Several years later, once I found HCA, I felt that I was finally able to give my crabs the conditions they needed to really thrive. Feel free to ask questions as this is an international melting-pot of experience which we all love to share.

[igotcrabs75]

Thank you for your response!!! I still have a question about substrate,right now it's calci sand and I forgot to buy play sand while I was out(duh,It was my purpose for going lol) I did get EE at the pet store though.I want to know if I can mix EE with calci sand or would it be better to wait until I get play sand? I also need this to be economical for me.I got moss and plants to brighten it up but won't waste EE if I should just wait.

[MsWorld]

Thank you for your response!!! I still have a question about substrate,right now it's calci sand and I forgot to buy play sand while I was out(duh,It was my purpose for going lol) I did get EE at the pet store though.I want to know if I can mix EE with calci sand or would it be better to wait until I get play sand? I also need this to be economical for me.I got moss and plants to brighten it up but won't waste EE if I should just wait.

How much calci sand do you have?


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[igotcrabs75]

Not a whole lot really,like I said I knew I needed to revamp the tank.I think only 2 or 3 inches worth.I kept the ends a little deeper for digging.Which is another problem I am having,I have two crabs down and I don't know if just to de-stress or for a molt.One I have had for two years and may be a molt,the other I just got a few weeks ago,but it jumped shell within a couple days so it could be a molt too.I was thinking just take the other 3 crabs out and all the stuff except where they are and mix in EE and hope they move. If you could lend me pointers I'd be thankful! I want to get it up to par ASAP for their sake if they are molters.The one I've had longer went down as soon as I cleaned sand yesterday and the other dug the rest of the sand out today.It looks like there was a landslide coming out of the hut,he shoveled well,lol.

[MsWorld]

The problem with calci sand is when it gets wet it hardens like cement and can potentially stick to those crabs which would be fatal. It would glue the crab into its shell and suffocate it. So in my opinion if you are trying to upgrade their forever home especially after 2 years of living like that I would wait it out. But this is just my opinion. As I would want to get rid of that calci sand. Maybe someone else has an idea.


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[Crabinski]

The calci-sand has to go before creating a new substrate or you're just wasting more $$. A 50lb bag of playsand is about $5 at HomeDepot/Lowe's, cheaper than the EcoEarth! As @MsWorld said, the issue with calci-sand is the clumping/hardening danger it poses to burrowing crabs; it also does not hold water well so mixing it with EcoEarth would not produce the desired sandcastle consistency.

[Hdale85]

Over here the play sand at home depot was 3 dollars, actually like $2.80. It's crazy lol.

[KayedeeLove<3]

Yea if you get the blue sakrete brand its 3$ for a 50 lb bag

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[aussieJJDude]

If you want, keep the calci sand in a small container/bowl (like one of their food bowls) and offer it as a suitable calcium source. A few crabbers do give calcisand to their crabs in this manner, which you may like - and not throwing away $$$ of sand.